Battery hand-lamp.



C. HAMBUECHEN. BATTERY HAND LAMP. APPLICATION FILED ocr. I8. 19u.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

C. HAMBUECHEN.

BATTERY HAND LAMP.

APPLICATION min ocT.1, 1911.

8. @R /mr ma W@ mm @Q www uf Dm w .M

@W M, ma@

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OEEICE.

CARL HAMBUECHEN, OEBELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS, Ass'IGNOR, EY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, To NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, INC., OE CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

BATTERY HAND-LAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARL HAMBUECHEN, a citizen of the Unitedl States, residingA at Belleville, in the countyof St. Clair, State of Illinois, have invented certain new'y and useful Improvements in Battery Hand- Lamps; and I dophereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tO make and use the same.

The present invention relates to improvements in hand lamps of the-general type in which there is a casing of insulatingmaterial provided at one endwitlia lamp and reiiector and within which a dry battery is held by means of a cap screwed on the other end of the casing. The lamp circuit is controlled by a switch usually placed on the side of the casing, and the cap is so constructed that it may be manipulated to cause a second break in the circuit when desired,A the vobject of the second break being tO prevent inadvertent lighting of the lamp if the switch is accidentally Operated when the lamp is being carried about as for instance in the pocket. It is an object of the present invention to improve the construction' of hand lamps of this generalcharacter and particularly to arrange the parts so that a push button type of switch may be used for controlling the lamp circuit. A further object is to make' the bottom cap-'Of aconstruction which is simple and yet effective for opening the'lamp circuit when the cap is partially unscrewed. 1, V

In accordance with the present inventionY an insulating casing is provided having attached to its inner surface two fixed Contact strips, one of which makes electrical'connection with a reflector within which 'alamp-is' mounted at the "front, end of the casing, while the other strip extends to the other or rear end vof: the casing. The circuit be# tween these two Contact' strips is controlled by a switgh of the push button type,`pref er ably ro'v'ided with an auxiliary switch of the sliding contact type whereby the lamp circuit may be left in closed condition inde pendently of the push vlouttonfswitch. The cap which screwsonto the rear' endof the casing has a spring to retain the battery -in place against the lamp terminal and the ca'p isprovided with means for contacting'with thcrear end of the second Contact strip when in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation through the complete hand'lamp. Fig. 2 is a plan view of' the complete device; Fig. 3 is a section through a portion ofthe casing and the rear cap on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4

is a similar section along the line 4--1 at the front of the device; Fig. 5 is an end elevation shbwing the inside of the cap; Fig. 6 'is a detail view showing the switch plateremoved from the cap; Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of a lamp provided with a cap of modified construction and Fig. 8 is a sectionthrough the end of this lamp along'the line 8 8 of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference characters denote similar parts throughout the several views, 10 represents atubular casing preferably constructed of insulating material such as hard liber. Surrounding the"forw ard end of the casing is a metallic sleeve 11 which is screw threaded to receive a collar 12 for holding in place the lens '13 and'also for clamping between the lens and thehendv of the casing a reflector 14' which has at its inner end a socket 15 within which a small incandescent bulb 16 is'screwed. One terminal of the lamp constitutes the usual screw threaded plug portion while the other terminal 17 is: adapted to be engaged by the terminal 18 of a-battery 19 preferably composed of a plurality of vdry cells'arranged end to end and mounted inaremovable carton within the casing.` A Contact |strip 2() is attached to the insideof the casing as by rivets 21 and at its forward end this lstrip is bent to engage', the outerV surface of the reflector 14. The rivet at the forward end of the Contact stripl should preferably belconcealed beneath the'sleeve 11 and in'order to prevent electrical'conta'ct with this sleeve a piece of insulating material 22 may -be' provided.

4A-seoond contact Vstrip 2.3 is attached to the inside of vthe casing by -a rivet'24 near erable longitudinal movement. In order toits rear end, but at its forward end it is connected, by means of a rivet passing through the casing, to one of the curved wing portions of a shield 25 containing the switch mechanism. Upon the top of the shield25 is a sliding member or thumb piece 26 which has tangs 27 adapted to pass through longitudinal slots in the shield. The ends of these tangs are clenched under a resilient metal contact element 28 and fit within recesses in the edge of this element to provide for moving the same by motion of the thumb piece. The Contact element has a vdownwardly extending endportion 29 adapted to engage an enlarged head'on the outer end of the rivet 2l which holds the contact strip 2O in place. A second contact element 30 is held in place between the first contact element 28 andthe top of the shield. This second contact element is of resilient metal and is provided with recesses on its edges through which the tangs 27 of the thumb piece extend. The recesses on contact element 30 are somewhat longer'than those on the contact element 28 inbrder to permit motion of the latter in respect to the shield. The free end of contact element 30 has .at-A

ftached to it apush button 3l which, when the Contact element is in its normal position extends through an opening'in the-top of the shield. A contact point 32 may. be applied to the underside of contact element 30in a position to engagethe enlarged head ofthe rivet at the inner end of the contact' strips20.

Vhen the members of the switchoccupy the position shown in the drawings the'rlamp circuit will be open as bothof the contact elements are out 'of engagement with the head of stud or rivet 21 formingone terminal of the vbattery circuit. When itis desired to light the lamp and retainI control of the latter underl the thumb or fingers of the user, the push button;31 is depressed bringing contact-point 32 into engagement with the head of rivet 21 thus bridging the gap between the ends ofthe 'conducting strips 2O and 23. As long as the button is held depressed the lamp circuit vwill be closed, but as soon as it is-released ,the con.

tact element will spring back toits normal position thus opening the lamp circuit. If it is desired that the lamp shall burn continually without the necessity of holding they push button depressedgthumb piece26-is slid along the shield and carries with 1t contactelement bringing the vend 29in engagement with the` head of rivet 21. Thefother contact element 30 does not, however, partake of the sliding motion of the lirst contact element since the button extending through the top of the shield prevents any considbreak the circuit the 'thumb piece must be restored to normal position.

At the rear of the casing is a sleeve l35 similar to the sleeve 11 at the front of thc casing. The head of rivet 24 should prefer'ably be concealed under sleeve 35 and insulated from the latter by a piece of appropriate insulating material 36.- A cap 37 is provided with a screw threaded portion 38 adapted to fit on the sleeve 35. Within the cap is mounted switch mechanism adapted to engage the rear end of the contact strip 23 when the cap is screwed completely on to the sleeve. Figs. 1, 5 and 6 show one construction that may be used. It comprises a substantially circular switch plate 39 provided at its edge with a number of ears 40 which when the plate is forced into place in the cap, spring into a circular groove formedbetween theend of the cap and the screw threadedvportion 38 thus holding the switch plate normally within the cap. The switch plateis provided with an annular ridge 41 having curved sides, the outer one of which is adapted to' engage the bent rear 'endof thecontact strip 23 as shown most clearly ,in Fig. v1. The switch plate is also providedwith a second ridge or groove 42 havingan opened portion to permit one end ofa coil spring 43 to enter beneath the ridge and. thereby be detachably secured to the switchplate. The coil spring is preferably of tapering form, the smaller end being adapted to engage the rear end of the battery. In batteries of this construction this rear end forms .one terminaland .the metallic electrede of the battery is left exposed so that the circuit may bey completed through the spring kand the inclosing cap.

Withv the arrangement described above, the circuit to the contact strip 23 cannot be completed from the vvterminal of the battery unless. the cap 37 is screwed completely on to the sleeve 35, or at least so far that the ridge 4:1 lcomes into contact with the end of the strip 23. When this occurs the spring 43 vwill be under sulicient compression to hold the battery firmly against the inner terminal of the lamp, so that the lamp circuit maybe finally completed by manipulation ofthe switch mounted on the side of the casing. :Vhen the lamp is to be carried in `thepockeh. the cap may be unscrewed suficientlyto bring the ridge/11 out of contact' withtheend of the strip 2'3 in which casethre Wllbe a break in the circuit at this point so that even if the switch is accidentally manipulated there will be no chance for the lamp circuit to be established.v Whether the cap .be vunscrewed or not any piece of metal, as for-instance a metal tool, which may come in contact with the collar l2andthe cap37 at the same time, will not establish the lamp circuit for the forward end of the contact strip 2O engages the re- Hector only and there is no chance for the current to reach the reflector from the collar 12 since the sleeve 11 upon which the collar is screwed is set back a slight distance from the outer edge of the fiber casing, thus insulating these metallic fittings from the refiector.

The modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8 is of somewhat simpler construction and comprises a tapering coil spring 4-5 set into the groove formed in the outer edge of the cap so that it is retained in place. This spring is so formed that when the cap is screwed completely onto the end of the .casing one of the convolutions of the spring will come into engagement with the end of the contact strip 23 to establish the circuit 4through the contact strip. By unscrewing the cap a certain amount, the Contact is broken so that the lamp will not be accidentally lighted.

It will be understood that while two modifications of the invention have been shown, it is capable of being embodied in other constructions.

1. In a battery hand lamp, the combination of a tubular casing, a battery therein,

a metallic reflector at one end of the casing, a lamp mounted in the refiector with one terminal electrically connected thereto, and the other terminal connected to one terminal ofthe battery, a. lens associated with the reflector, metallic fittings insulated from said reflector for holding said lens in place, circuit connections between the other terminal of the battery and said reflector, said connections including two conductors fixed in position upon the inside of the casing and two switch mechanisms arranged in series, one of said switch mechanisms being adapted to establish a circuit between the said conductors, and the other mechanism including a conducting cap for holding the battery in place and included in the circuit through one of said conductors.

2. In a battery hand lamp, the combinationof a tubular casing, a battery therein, a metallic reflector at one end of the casing, a lamp mounted in the reflector with one terminal electrically connected thereto, and the other terminal connected to one terminal of the battery, a lens associated with the refiector, metallic fittings insulated from said reflector for holding said lens in place, circuit connections between the other terminal of the battery and said reflector, said connections including two conductors fixed in position upon the inside of the casing and two switch mechanisms arranged in series, one of said switch mechanisms being adapted to establish a circuit between the said conductors and the other mechanism including an all metallic cap detachably mounted minal of the battery to said second conductor.

3. In a battery hand lamp, the combination of a tubular casing, a battery therein, a metallic reflector at one end of the casing, a lamp mounted in the reflector with one terminal electrically connected thereto and the other terminal connected to one terminal of the battery, a lens associated with the refiector, metallic fittings insulated from said refiector for holding said lens in place, a metallic cap detachably mounted on the other end ofthe casing, a conductor fixed on the inside of the casing and having electrical connection with said reflector, a second conductor mounted in fixed position on the inside of the casing, a switch mounted on the casing for completing the circuit between the said cinductors, a metallic switch plate within and having electrical Contact with the cap and adapted to engage said second conductor when the cap is in place, and means within said cap for electrically connecting the other terminal of the battery to the plate.

4. In a battery hand lamp, the combination of a casing, a battery therein, a lamp mounted in one end of the casing and having one terminal connected to one terminal of the battery, a metallic cap detachably mounted on the other end of the casing, a conducting member mounted within the cap and held in place by a groove on the edge of the cap, means connected to said member I and adapted to form an electrical connection with the other terminal of the battery when the cap is in position, a conductor fixed within the casing and adapted to be engaged by said conducting member when the cap is in position and a switch mounted on the casing adapted to establish al circuit between the conductor and the lamp.

5. In a battery hand lamp, the combination of a cylindrical casing, a battery therein, a lamp mounted in one end of the casing and having one terminal connected to one terminal of the battery, a cap detachably mounted on the other end of the casing, a circular conducting member within the cap, and provided on its edge with ears fit-ting into a groove in the outer edge of the cap, means connected to said member and adapted to form an electrical connection with the other terminal of the battery when the cap is in position, a conductor fixed within the casing and adapted to be engaged by said conducting member when the cap is in position and a switch mounted on the casing adapted to establish circuit between the conductor and the lamp.

6. In a battery hand lamp, the combination of a tubular casing, a battery therein, a metallic reflector at one end of the casing, a lamp mounted in the refiector with one terminal electrically connected thereto and the other terminal connected to one terminal of the battery, a lens associated with the reflector, metallic fittings insulated from said refiector for holding said lens in place, a metallic cap detachably mounted on the other end of the casing, a conducting plate in electrical contact with the inside of said cap and provided with a groove, a coiled spring having one end retained in the groove and adapted to engage t-he other terminal of the battery, a conductor fixed within the casing and adapted to be engaged by said conducting plate when the cap is in position and a switch on the side of the casing :for establishing circuit between said conductor and the refiector.

7. In a battery hand lamp, the combination of a casing, a battery therein, a lamp mounted in one end of the casing and having a terminal engaging one terminal of the battery, a metallic cap detachably mounted on the other end of the casing, a conducting plate in electrical contact with the inside of the cap, said plate being provided with a substantially circular open-ended groove and a circular ridge, a coiled spring having one end retained in the groove and adapted to engage the other terminal of the battery, a conductor fixed within the casing and having a free end adapted to be engaged and forced outwardly by the ridge on the plate when the cap is in position, and a switch on the casing for establishing circuit between said conductor and the lamp.

8. In a battery hand lamp, the combina tion of a tubular casing, a battery therein, a lamp mounted in one end of the casing and having one terminal connected to one terminal of the battery, a metallic cap detachably mounted on the other end of the casing, a circular conducting plate arranged in electrical contact with the inside of the cap, said conducting plate being provided with an annular open-en ded groove and a closed annular ridge having sloping sides, a tapering coiled spring having its larger end retained in the groove and its smaller end engaging the other terminal of the battery, a conductor fixed within the casing and having an inwardly bent rear end adapted to be engaged and forced outwardly by one side of the annular ridge when the cap is in place, and a switch on the casing adapted to establish circuit between the conductor and the lamp.

9. In a battery hand lamp, the combination of a tubular casing, a battery therein, la metallic reflector at one end of the casing, a lamp mounted in the reflector with one terminal electrically connected thereto and the other terminal connected to one terminal of the battery, a lens associated with the reflector, metallic fittings insulated from said reflector for holdingsaid lens in place, a cap detachably mounted on the other end of the casing, a conducting member fixed in position within the casing, a coiled spring retained within said cap and engaging the other terminal of the battery, said spring being grounded on said cap and adapted to be brought into or taken out of electrical connection with said conducting member by movement of the cap on the end of the cas ing, and a switch on the side of the casing for establishing circuit between said conducting member and the reflector.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CARL HAMBUECHEN.

Copies of this patent may 13e-obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

